Vermeer new Derby favourite
Sky Bet have installed Jan Vermeer their new favourite for the Investec Derby following speculation he could be the mount of Johnny Murtagh.
Last Updated: 28/05/10 6:11pm
Sky Bet have installed Jan Vermeer their new favourite for the Investec Derby following speculation he could be the mount of Johnny Murtagh.
Trainer Aidan O'Brien and stable jockey Murtagh have been singing the praises of last year's top-rated two-year-old and winter favourite St Nicholas Abbey, but the colt could finish only sixth in the 2,000 Guineas earlier this month.
And with the son of Montjeu reportedly working below par on Friday morning, an avalanche of support has come for his stablemate, one of four possible runners from Ballydoyle.
"Johnny Murtagh rode St Nicholas Abbey this morning and thought he might not have shown the same sparkle he showed last Tuesday morning," O'Brien told www.coolmore.com.
"Therefore he won't make up his mind what horse he rides in the Investec Derby until the middle of next week."
Jan Vermeer put himself firmly in the frame with an impressive victory in the Gallinule Stakes at the Curragh on Sunday, and is now only 5/2 to give O'Brien a third victory at Epsom.
"The money for Jan Vermeer speaks volumes and the friendless St Nic has hardly been given a vote of confidence by Murtagh delaying a decision on his Derby mount until next week," said Sky Bet's Matt Doyle.
St Nicholas Abbey is now a 3/1 chance while the other O'Brien-trained pair - Dante winner Cape Blanco and Midas Touch, winner of the Derrinstown Derby Trial - are amongst the co-third favourites at 8/1.